Higher Ed Ready for Compassionate Pioneers? Sharing Instructional Resources?

Donated Corneal Transplant - 2 Stitches Showing

A "compassionate pioneer" is someone who has demonstrated commitments to BOTH exploring new educational and technological options AND helping colleagues - at least some of the time. 


Can the culture of colleges, universities, and academic disciplines support the development and use of shared instructional resources? - This still imiportant question taken from Observations Section of "A New Vision Worth Working Toward: Connected Education and Collaborative Change," Steven W. Gilbert, 2000-2006, First version published via AAHESGIT listserv January, 2000; PDF of full article

See also Exemplar:  Tom Creed,  "Many Swords, Many Stones"  


More from Observations 2000 about Compassionate Pioneers

Many self-motivated faculty members who first explore educational uses of information technology – even beyond the use of generic “office suite” tools – are developing applications with great educational potential.  Some of these often-under-supported experiments are likely to lead, eventually, to major new educational uses of technology.  Their work is sometimes linked with the research and development efforts of their own educational institutions and/or companies in related industries.

On each campus, a few of these leaders are “Compassionate Pioneers” who feel a commitment to help their colleagues learn to use new technology/pedagogy combinations. Compassionate Pioneers can be among the most valuable resources for change at a college or university.  Academic support services often benefit from the informal efforts of these unsung heroes.  Unfortunately, at many educational institutions, some of them are getting tired and have begun closing their doors to colleagues.  Academic support services should be re-organized to embrace and assist Compassionate Pioneers – and to take advantage of their energy and credibility with their colleagues.  [At some institutions, Compassionate Pioneers are granted release time, appointed as “faculty fellows,” or given other incentives.] .

The collaborative inclinations and skills of the Compassionate Pioneers can also contribute beyond the walls of any one campus.  Thousands of faculty members are beginning to build their own modest course-related collections of materials, activities, references, and links on the Web.  Some of the Compassionate Pioneers could be instrumental in aggregating and focusing those efforts, to help avoid some of the wasteful duplication.  That is, if the culture of colleges, universities, and academic disciplines will support the development and use of shared instructional resources.  For some faculty members, it may be easier to collaborate for such purposes within their disciplines than within their institutions;  however, collaboration within institutions must become more acceptable, rewarded, and supported.

- from Observations Section of "A New Vision Worth Working Toward: Connected Education and Collaborative Change," Steven W. Gilbert, 2000-2006, First version published via AAHESGIT listserv January, 2000; PDF of full article



Image:  Photo of "human eye that received a cornea transplant. This is after one year of healing, there are still two stiches left to be removed." 4 April 2009
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Cornea_Transplant.jpg
By Megor1 (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Common